龍舒增廣淨土文 3.12

3.12

For instance, when a person enters a great city, he must first find a place of lodging, and only then go out to attend to business; when evening darkness arrives, he then has a place to stay. Finding a lodging place first refers to cultivating the Pure Land. The arrival of evening darkness refers to the coming of the end of one's life. Having a place to stay refers to being born within a lotus and not falling into the evil destinies. Again, it is like setting out on a long journey in the spring months: one must first prepare rain gear, so that when a sudden downpour comes unexpectedly, there is no trouble of being drenched and distressed. Preparing rain gear first refers to cultivating the Pure Land. The sudden arrival of a downpour refers to the impending end of one's life. Being free from the trouble of being drenched and distressed refers to not sinking into the evil destinies to suffer diverse torments. Furthermore, finding a lodging place first does not hinder one's business. Preparing rain gear first does not hinder one's journey over distant roads. Thus, cultivating the Pure Land does not hinder any worldly affairs at all; why should people not cultivate it? An acquaintance of mine had accumulated the sin of killing many fish throughout his life; in his late years, he contracted an illness resembling a stroke. Pitying his sinful evils and painful sickness, I went to visit him and exhorted him to recite Amitābha Buddha. He adamantly refused to recite, only speaking of miscellaneous matters with me. Was this not because, obstructed by evil karma and muddled by disease, he was already incapable of turning his mind to mindful goodness? After he closes his eyes, what can be done for him? Therefore, those who cultivate this must turn around as early as possible. In the world, day is necessarily followed by night, and cold is necessarily followed by heat; this is known to everyone and cannot be hidden. Yet when it is said that birth must have death, people taboo it and refuse to speak of it. What a great delusion! For they do not know that what is called the 'self' has never died; it only departs when karmic conditions are exhausted. Therefore, one must cultivate the Pure Land to seek birth within a lotus, receive a pure and ethereal body with limitless lifespan, and escape all the suffering of birth and death.